Bottle-carrying tray



Oct. 7, 1947.-

V H. l. RICHARDS BOTTLE-CARRYING TRAY Filed Aug. 25, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HEN Y; icfifsRDs 0ct. .7, 1947. I H, 1, RlCHARDs 2,428,386

BOTTLE-CARRYING TRAY Filed Aug. 25, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v Patented Oct. 7, 1947 amuse norriin-ennamema Richard s, Arlington,

Application August 25, 1944; Serial na. -ss1-,;21a

(ole-224L451;

1 1 GIaim'Si This invention relates generally-- to: loottle -car yinmtraysand particularly to'a tray adapted to lie; used: in the ordinary. manner orwith': a'" me chanical' apparatus for, loading and*' dispensing bottles. etc, fbrining the" subject-matter of" art-- other; application Serial Nb} 549:046; filed" Aug. 11;; 9441 The principal object of; the" present invention islto'provide' a bottle carrying tray of novel con striiction which may be expeditiously lo'adedc or unloaded.

Another im ortant object of the" present invention is to provide a 'b'ottle carrying tray havliigpompartment-forming fingers so arranged as tia'i he'jremov'edirom between a plurality of bottles when the normally abut'ting carryinghandles ;are separatedto pern itimanual ejection of bottles from one s end ot'tli'e tray,

lItgis' aInrther' object ofthet'invention toproiide' a' hottle:ca1f'rying' tray of simple though rugeiecliconstrnctlon which is long wearingin' use and economical" in cosh. I

Qtl'ieri obiiectsiand advantages of the invention will become apparentiduring the course of'the following description.

Although. tlrlepresentinventionv is. suitable for nse witl'l .s all types 7, of T bottles, and other articles afidlpacka lesgfor convenience; a. milk bottle-car'- ryingtra 'is herein; shown, for illustrative purmses only.

lihthesdfawing s Iinave disclosed one embodie- Iiie'nt,of;the.presentiinvention.

In this embodiment:

figure-Li's anlanview of" the tray comprising the'invention, parts oftl'ie carrying handles being broken. away;

P Eig'jire 2151a. viewjnen'd elevation looking from theQeft'Jin Fi ure v1 t v j Eiglufe;i'islaivertical sectional view taken. on the;line 3&-31of.fiure '11;

:E'igjllre' 411s aview; in side elevation showingja plurality; ofmilk. bottles, positioned; therein; and

Figure 5 is a plan view of the bottle-carrying tray; whensppsitioned ,onkthe supnortingbar of a ine' cjhani'calzioadinaappa Reterring n'ow to the drawings, numeral l0 .des- {mates the floor at the tray, comprising the pres-, entiinvention, which maybe stamped fro'msheet metal zorl molded" from a plastic ,or' other material ridges to, lieprovidedi lth a of upstanding sidesglifandga pair, ofdownwardlylextending .end gortions toiorina pairo'f transversely extending feet H" and" It; It will be noted" that the front foot I6 is providedwithjan outwardly projecting nangel B -fora purposatobedesc'r'ibedf The sheet metalor other material; from which t then-awe stamped, f-ormed or molded -ischosen of a-gaiug'e or thickness suii'icient-ly heavy so as to form a structure whichwill stronglysupport the load tobe carried? normally eight filled milk bottles as shown. Each side I! of the tray lil has' fiite'ei thereto a'p1ura'lltyof spaced vertical' rods-=2fl, the upper ends of which are: provided witheye portions 22; I

A pair'o-f tray-handles 2'4 ami 'llt are-"pivotall'y mounted on-the sides fl hy meansof" curved sup porting-members 2 $and w ailso having-eyes li at their lower ends. The eXesTS and Z-Z=receive=rivet ins 2 1; The handle supporting members wand 30 have aiiixed' thereto: eye=members 32 which rotatabl'yjsupport" longitudinally extending rods- 36; Each of therods36*is'provided witli" a plurality of laterally inwardly extendingfingers 38" which, together'w-ith ar centr'ai' longitudinally-ex tending partition 4'0; divide the area ofthe tray NI into two-rows of bottle receiving compartments; It will be noted "that thepartitiorrfingers-Ga ad jacent-th'e". front end of the-tray'are' of greater length than the balance of" the fingers to com pletelyclose" the front end-of the tray when in ahorizontal position;

Therear'end of tlie trams provided with a connectingbar 4-2' whichis'p'ivotall$ 'j connected tothe handle members 30 (Figure 2) asatfl omhandle 24 andat 46 on=an extension'fl 'of handle 26 It will: be obvious that-movement of either handle 2'4 or 2.6 outwardly from the carrying positionshown' in Figure 3' will aforce'-the other handle "to also move outward-1y dueto thispivotal connec- 171011.

A pair, of smalldrunsfl aremount-ed; on the end'sgofi the rods'at'the rarofthetrayifl; These drums; 50 are' connected by a flexible cable or;

band-5'21 secured at its extremities by suitable means to the"peripheries--of;thedrums; When the handles 24' and 26 are moved outwardly away from each. other theflexib'le cable 52'will force drums; '50 to.,, rotate: oppositely about the" rods; 3% and thus movethepartition fingers upwardly and: outwardly; in the;direction--.of motion of hen-- dles Hand '26. Duetotthe chosen diameters of the drums" 50 th'ezfingersfi'iliwlll rotate upwardly, with somewhatigreater speed than: the handles'i W and 26 to insure that the fingerszare outwardly of the vertical lines ofizhetsids. II of the tray-111:1 This permits bottles to;be loaded;into1or ejected from the tray HI withoutinterference from the fingers 38 when", thejliandles' '24 and 26 are in fully opened position, rtigurefldisclosingthe handies inpartially openeifposition';

of longitudinally extehding slots 56 ea'chinterme diate one side of the tray and the central partition 48. These slots receive a pair of upstanding bottle-ejectingpieces 58 projecting through the slots 56 and connected to each other beneath 15 the tray by an intermediate portion 60'} The connecting piece 60 is provided with a centrally. located depending flange 62 forming a thumb piece to effect movement of the ejecting pieces c eeses 26 are swung back together in a vertical position as shown in Figure 3 and the tray is then lifted from the supporting bar 18.

58. In order that the ejectors 58 may be oper-j, :i

ated without binding throughout the length of the slots 56, the; thumb iece 62 1 s provided with an opening 64 through which a rod 66 extends.

Th e-ejectors 58 are supported by and may be smoothly slidalong the rod; 66. which is supported at its ends in the downwardly turned leg portions l4 and [8. i

The ejectors 58 may be readilyinstalled within the slots 56 by twisting them so as to permit insertion therethrough and subsequently twisting the ejectors back to the position shown or by making the ejectors readily detachable from the supporting and connecting bar-"Gibby the use of screws, nuts, bolts, etc. i The advantages .of the, bottlecarrying tray comprising the present invention will be apparent from the following description of its use.

Where the milk bottle carrying tray 10 is used in connection with bottle-ejecting mechanism of the type partially illustrated in Figure 5 and which forms no part of thepresent invention, the front tray leg I6 is inserted behind ,a bar 18 extending transversely in frontof and. spaced from a shelf '12 having 'a plurality of rows of milk bottles thereon. .The forwardly turned flange l8 of the leg I6 is then-hooked under the bottom of shelf I2 to support the bottle-carrying tray l and its two rows of bottles in aligned relationship with a pair of bottle-receiving rows 16 on theshelf 12. I; V U

T he tray, I8 and its two rows of bottles is properly aligned with apair of bottle-receiving rows onshelf 12 (Figure by sliding the tray laterally on the supporting bar until the ejector guide rod 66 drops into one of a plurality of notches I8 provided in alignment with each of a plurality of bottle-ejectingrods 88 having bottle compartment-forming fingers '82.' As shown in the figure, the compartment fingers 82 have been pivoted upwardly so as to permit milk bottles to'beejected from the tray l0 into the empty rows 16 on the shelf 72.

It will now beapparent that the delivery man may manually slide the thumb piece 62 along the rod 66 to'cause the ejectorpieces 58 to simultaneously deliver the two rows of milk bottles from the tray onto the shelf 12.: Thereafter, the bottleejecting' fingers 82 on the shelf 12 are rotated back to horizontal-position asshown in the lower left hand portion of Figure 5. Conversely, bot tles ma be ejectedfroin the shelf 12- by the rod 80 and its fingers 82'onto ,the tray It! as desired, the partition fingers 38 being thrown upwardly out of the Wa upon opening of thehandles 24 and 26, and the ejectors 581 acting. as stops-for each row of four bottles. If the tray is usedwith- 4 out the ejectors, stops may be formed in or struck up from the material forming the tray.

Whether milk bottles are being moved to or from the tray I8, it is first positioned upon the supporting bar 10 in the manner described. The handles 24 and 26 are then opened together with their partition fingers 38 to a substantially horizontal position so that both handles and fingers fully clear the sides I2 of the tray I8 to permit the ejection or're'ception of-bott'les to 'or from the tray [8 Withoutinterference. After the tray [8 has been loaded or unloaded the handles 24 and In the event that the milk bottle-carrying tray I8 is not used in conjunction with the milk dispensing apparatus illustrated in Figure 5, the

'tray is loaded in the normal manner by simply inserting 8 bottles of milk therein. Upon arrival at the Point at which one ormore of the milk bottles are to beleft, the handles are swung open and the thumb piece 52 is operated to eject from the end of the tray the desired number of bottles or theylareme'rely lifted'from the 'tra'y.

It will now be apparent, that the milk bottle-- carrying tray comprising the present invention is highly advantageous and time-saving when used in conjunction with the milk bottle-dispensing apparatus disclosed" and equally advantageous when not used therewith. Obviously, while the bottle-ejecting mechanism provided therewith i 'highly advantageous'in the rapid delivery of milk bottles, this tray may also be used'in the normal manner. The tray is simply'but strongly and ruggedly constructed so as to have long life: at low initial cost and may readily be manufactured from non-critical materials.

It is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shown and described areto be taken as preferred examples of'the same and that various changes inthe shape, size and ar rangement of parts may be resorted towithout' departing from 'thespirit of the'i h scope of the subjoin'ed claims.

I Claim:

1. A tray comprising rigid sheet material having upwardly turned edge portions forming sides and downwardly turned end portions forming supporting feet, a pair of handles "mounted on the upper edge portions of said sides,isai i'handles being pivotally rh'ounted to facilitate loading and unloading'of said tr'ay, a nd a bar'connecting said handles to effectsimultaneous motion thereof toward and ing position. 1 2. A device for carryingbottles comprising a tray including sides, apair of handles mounted onthe upper edge portions of said sides, alongi-- tudinally extending rod mounted on one of said handles for axial rotation, and a plurality of lat erally extending fingers fixed to said rodfland defining bottle-receiving compartments with said sides.

3. A device for carrying bottles comprising a. tray including sides, a pair of handlesmounted on the upper edge portions of said sides, a longi tudinally extending rod mounted on one of said handles for axial rotation, a vertical longitudi nally extending partition integrally mounted on said tray and defining bottle-receiving lows with away from tray-carry said sides, and a plurality of laterally extending" 4. A device for carrying bottles comprisingtray including sides, a pair of handles pivoted to said tray, a longitudinally extending rod mounted on at least one of said handles, a plurality of laterally extending fingers fixed to said rod and defining bottle-receiving compartments with said sides, and a bar connecting said handles to effect simultaneous motion thereof toward and away from tray-carrying position.

5. A device for carrying bottles comprising a tray including sides, a pair of handles pivoted to said tray, a longitudinally extending rod mounted for rotation on each of said handles, a plurality of laterally extending fingers fixed to said rod and defining bottle-receiving compartments with said sides, a bar connecting said handles to effect simultaneous motion thereof toward and away from tray-carrying position, and means for effecting rotation of said rod and fingers upon pivotalmovement of said handles.

6. A device for carrying bottles comprising a tray including sides, a pair of handles pivoted to said tray, a longitudinally extending rod mounted for rotation on each of said handles, a plurality of laterally extending fingers fixed to said rod and defining bottle-receiving compartments with said sides, and means for effecting rotation of said rod and fingers upon pivotal movement of said handles.

7. A device for carrying bottles comprising a tray including sides, a, pair of handles pivoted to said tray, a longitudinally extending rod mounted for rotation on each of said handles, a plurality of laterally extending fingers fixed to said rod and defining bottle-receiving compartments with said sides, and means for effecting rotation of said rod and fingers upon pivotal movement of said handles, said means comprising a drum fixed to each of said rods, flexible means connecting and being wound partially about said drums to effect rotation of said fingers upon movement of said handles from carrying position, and spring means connecting said rod and said handles to effect return of said fingers to normal horizontal position upon reverse movement of said handles to tray-carrying position.

8. A device for carrying bottles comprising a tray having sides and open ends, a pair of handles each pivotally connected to one of said sides, and a plurality of laterally extending fingers mounted on one of said handles to define a plurality of individual bottle-receiving compartments with said sides and to close one of said ends, said fingers being rotatable away from said bottles upon separating movement of said handles.

9. A device for carrying bottles comprising a tray having sides and open ends, a pair of handles pivotally connected to said sides, a plurality of laterally extending fingers mounted on at least one of said handles to define bottle-receiving compartments with said walls and close said ends, said fingers being rotatable out of the path of said bottles upon separating movement of said handles, and a bar connecting said handles to eiTect simultaneous motion thereof toward and away from tray-carrying position.

10. A device for carrying bottles comprising a tray including sides, a pair of handles pivoted to said tray, a longitudinally extending rod mounted for rotation on each of said handles, a plurality of laterally extending fingers fixed to said rod and defining bottle-receiving compartments with said sides, and means for effecting rotation of said rod and fingers upon pivotal movement of said handles, said means comprising a drum fixed to each of said rods and flexible means connecting and being wound partially about said drums to efiect rotation of said fingers upon movement of said handles from carrying position.

11. A device for carrying bottles comprising a tray having sides and open ends, a pair of handles pivotally connected to said sides, and a plurality of laterally extending fingers and mounted on at least one of said handles to define bottlereceiving compartments with said Walls and close said ends, said fingers being rotatable with respect to said handles and out of the path of said bottles upon separating movement of said handles.

12. A bottle-carrying tray for cooperation with the spaced tray-supporting bar of the shelves of bottle dispensing apparatus comprising rigid sheet material having a fiat bottle-supporting area and upwardly turned edge portions forming sides and downwardly turned end portions forming supporting feet, one of said end portions being insertable between said bar and said shelf and provided with an outwardly projecting fiange to engage the bottom of said shelf to maintain the tray in loading or unloading position.

13. A bottle-carrying tray for cooperation with the spaced tray-supporting bar of the shelves of bottle-dispensing apparatus comprising rigid sheet material having a fiat bottle-supporting area and upwardly turned edge portions forming sides and downwardly turned end portions forming supporting feet, one of said end portions being provided with an outwardly projecting flange extending parallel to said area and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the depth of the forward end of said shelf, said end portion being insertable between said bar and said shelf to engage the bottom of the latter to maintain the tray in loading or unloading position.

14. A bottle-carrying tray for cooperation with the spaced tray-supporting bar of the shelves of bottle dispensing apparatus comprising a tray portion having sides, and end members forming supporting feet, one of said end members being insertable between said bar and said shelf and provided with a flange to engage the bottom of said shelf to maintain the tray in loading or unloading position.

HENRY I. RICHARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,448,866 Redonte Mar. 20, 1923 1,527,174 Davidson Feb. 24, 1925 1,702,987 Wilson Feb; 19, 1929 1,857,598 Longaker May 10, 1932 2,050,677 Waldschock Aug. 11, 1936 2,259,667 Smith Oct. 21, 1941 2,265,877 Smith Dec. 9, 1941 2,300,201 Brunhoff Oct. 27, 1942 2,332,001 Nemetz Oct. 19, 1943 2,347,807 Booth May 2, 1944 

